Family of man who died in San Mateo sheriff’s custody calls for use-of-force probe

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A 36-year-old black man who struggled with mental illness and died after being tased by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies was the victim of excessive force, according to family members who on Tuesday called for a transparent and thorough investigation.

On Oct. 3, a sheriff’s deputy came upon Chinedu Okobi, of Pacifica, running in and out of traffic on the 1300 block of El Camino Real in Millbrae, authorities said. Okobi allegedly refused to cooperate and the deputy called for help.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said two deputies tased Okobi to get him under control and handcuff him, which is when Okobi went into cardiac arrest. He was transported to Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

In a memorial Tuesday at the San Francisco Christian Center, Okobi’s family, friends and classmates remarked about his love of writing, poetry and sports. His siblings recalled fond memories of their baby brother, who had chubby cheeks and a big smile. Statements about Okobi’s passion for being a father book-ended observations on police brutality and racism.

“His name has now joined an unfortunately long list of names,” said Michael McBride, pastor of The Way Christian Center in Berkeley, alluding to other unarmed black people who have been killed by police.

In a news conference following the memorial, the family appeared with civil rights attorney John Burris and called on the district attorney’s office to release more information, including all videos of the incident from dashboard cameras and witnesses’ cell phones.

“All I know is, a young man’s dead and he was in custody of the police,” Burris said. “He was unarmed, not engaged in any serious crime.”

Okobi’s family said he struggled with mental health issues and questioned how police responded to him during a time of crisis.

“This was a heavy-handed approach against someone who very likely was laboring under mental health conditions,” Burris said. “They may have not known that up front, but observations should’ve alerted them that something was going on.”

Burris called for a moratorium on the use of Tasers in San Mateo County until the Sheriff’s Office and all police departments within county boundaries can prove deputies and officers have been properly trained.

This is the third incident this year in San Mateo County that resulted in a suspect’s death after being tased.

In January, 34-year-old Warren Ragudo of Daly City died after an officer tased him while two other officers pressed their weight upon him. In August, 55-year-old Ramsey Saad became unconscious and later died after being tased by a Redwood City police officer.

The district attorney expects the investigation into Okobi’s death to take eight to 10 weeks. In that time, the district attorney said, he will review interviews with each of the five deputies involved, an autopsy report and cell phone and dashboard camera video, and he will interview anyone who witnessed the incident to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

An autopsy report has not yet been completed.

“That’s a crucial thing for us — why did this man die?” Wagstaffe said. “If I were to determine that there was excessive use of force, that would be a violation of law and there are a number of statutes that deal with that.”